The Goal Posts Are Moving
Posted On: 2008-08-04
Wow it's Monday already ... how could a weekend go so fast? I sure hope that your weekend was as good as mine was. We didn't do anything special but we did take a step back from some of the work we're doing and just enjoyed some time out.
Yesterday I spent a little time watching a couple of guys I know have an interesting discussion via Twitter about why working in the small business vertical is perhaps one of the hardest groups to work with. What they had to say certainly had some bearing on adult webmasters and it really is something that we should all be considering. One of them was thinking of moving away from offering help and services to small business and concentrating his efforts in other areas.
To his way of thinking few people in small business really had the financial resources to pay for much ... if anything ... in the way of the services he had to offer. Even though those services that he offered were often vital factors in the survival of his potential customers they just couldn't afford to pay for them ... no matter how low he set his prices.
And sadly that's the way it is here too. So many people start of in this industry with the mistaken idea that it's easy money but the fact is that you've really got to invest some money to make some money. Sure you can do lots of things yourself but sooner rather than later you're going to run into a situation that you want to exploit that requires money or skills that you don't have.
It's at that point that those people who started here with a firm financial foundation start to move ahead of those who came in with very little. And it's at that point that those who came in with very little start to struggle and eventually disappear.
Do you think that's harsh? Sadly it's the truth. There was a time when you could start with very little and still succeed but those days are gone. These days you can still start with very little but if you want to succeed then you're going to need to spend money to be in a position to make money.
Of course there is a way for new adult webmasters to work themselves into that position but it's going to take real grit and determination. Back when I started in this industry the goal was always to reach the point where you're income from sponsors was enough to allow you to quite your day job.
Now, when you reach the point where your income from porn is enough to pay all your bills and put food on the table, you still haven't reached the point where you can quite your day job ... no matter how much you wish you could. Instead you've reached the point where it's time to start investing that income in all the things that will help you move on to the next level.
Now instead of quitting that boring day job you've got to go on working at it while you invest in traffic, scripts, professional designs and software. All these things will add to your income earning ability but you won't be able to afford them if you've jumped ship and left your day job as soon as your income was equal to your living expenses. Only after all those new expenses have started adding substantially to your bottom line will you really be able to ditch your day job and jump into this your own business fulltime.
Yep ... the goal posts have been moved from where they were when I started here but that's the reality of life in this industry today. You've got to have money to make money and if all your money is going on living expenses then you don't have any to reinvest in your business to help it grow further.
But don't be fooled into thinking that this movement of the goal posts has just happened recently ... or that it's a one-off occurrence. The fact is that this industry ... like every other industry out there in cyber space and in the real world ... is in a constant state of change.
The goal posts are always moving and if we're not moving with them then before long we're going to be left behind. For example, over in mainstream small business web design and SEO was once a great area for solo designers to work in. The big end of the web design and SEO town was only ever interested in large businesses and I'm sure that some of us thought that would never change.
Well guess what? Some small practitioners in parts of America are beginning to find that Marchex ... one of the biggest design and SEO companies ... is beginning to target small business in a way that few of us might have though of and they have resources that small web designers can't match. Those small designers who have spotted the trend are already moving on to other things while those who don't are going to struggle.
There are similar things happening here in adult. Wander around our part of the Web and see where the traffic is going? Look to see how some sites that tried something different that some of us never thought would work are developing into major attractions for your average porn surfer. Now start thinking of areas that you can expand into.
The goal posts are always moving ... if we want to survive and grow then we have to keep moving with them.